The invention relates in general to packaging and in particular to the stacking of containers.
Containers are often stacked on pallets for shipping. After the pallet is completely loaded with containers, the containers are typically secured to the pallet with bands or straps. When stacking the containers on the pallet, care must be taken to prevent the stacked containers from shifting or falling over. To unload the containers from the pallet, the bands are cut and the containers removed. Because of movement of the containers during shipping, sometimes the containers will undesirably “unstack” themselves when the bands are removed. Particularly for fragile containers or fragile container contents, even a short fall to the ground may cause damage.
Another problem with packaging bands occurs when only a portion of a pallet of containers is desired at a location. After the desired number of containers are removed from the pallet, the containers remaining on the pallet must be restacked and re-banded for shipping. There is a need for a packaging solution that overcomes the problems associated with banding containers together.